


Mirror Mirror

by Springmagpies



Series: Promptober 2019 [17]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Ancient Curse, Bus era, F/M, FitzSimmons are cluless dorks, Fluff, Humor, Magic Mirror - Freeform, Promptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Springmagpies/pseuds/Springmagpies
Summary: When the team finds a "magic" mirror, they of course leave Fitz and Simmons to figure out how it works. In the process, however, Jemma ends up reflecting more than she planned as the mirror's effects take hold.





	Mirror Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> Promptober Day 18! Sorry this one is late, school has been super busy and I just started a new job so life is kinda crazy. Thank you all again for reading and commenting and kudosing (I'm just going to make that an official verb in my vocabulary), it really means so much! Anyway, enjoy the story!

They had picked up the mirror in Germany, hidden under an old bed sheet in an attic of all places, before packing it up carefully in the S.H.I.E.L.D emblazoned SUV and hauling it into The Bus’ lab. The frame of the mirror was delicate and the glass itself looked so thin it was amazing it wasn’t cracked.

“Woah woah woah, watch it, Ward,” Fitz rushed, stopping the specialist as he carried the mirror through the sliding glass door.

Ward grumbled something about not even being close to the door as he set the mirror down at the side of the lab, scowling as he brushed the dust off his gloved hands.

“So, what do you think it does?” Skye asked Fitz-Simmons, swirling side to side in the black computer chair as Ward marched up the spiral stairs for debriefing. 

“Well we can’t be quite sure yet,” Jemma said cheerfully, her eyes bright with science. She reached her hand over her shoulder and Fitz handed her a sample container without even needing to look. When he did look up, however, their eyes met and they passed each other a smile, leaving butterflies to flutter about in her stomach. 

Ever since jumping from The Bus, Jemma had been having strange reactions to being in Fitz’s presence, feeling emotions she hadn’t let herself feel since The Academy. They worked together as seamlessly as ever but now every slight hand brush or celebration over science was laced with something more. It left her with an unbelievable amount of happiness and almost an equal amount of nerves. So, instead of truly looking into the feelings, she decided to lock them nice and neatly into a box and continue on, choosing to ignore the unhealthy nature of the technique.

Jemma examined the looking glass closely, her fingers tracing over the standing mirror’s golden frame, sucking in her stomach slightly as Fitz ducked under her arm to get to the holotable. As the tip of her finger followed the twisting raised pattern of the mirror’s edge, her bare skin grazing the grooves, it suddenly felt as though something had gotten stuck in her eye and Jemma blinked furiously, her brain broiling with frustration all of a sudden as her eyes began to water. She shook her head to try and clear her mind, but the odd feeling persisted. 

“You alright, Simmons?” Fitz asked, his voice flooding with concern.

She brushed his question away with her hand, her voice taught as she continued to try and blink away the feeling. “Yes, got an eyelash in my eye is all.”

“Maybe it’s a magic mirror, like Snow White,” Skye suggested suddenly, her eyebrows reaching for her hairline in excitement. 

Fitz scoffed, switching spots with Simmons as he ran a laser scanner over the mirror, it’s green dots reflecting about the room after hitting the glass. “That’s ridiculous because there’s--”

“No such thing as magic,” Skye finished, rolling her eyes. She hopped up from off her chair and strode over to stand just behind Fitz, able to see them both in the mirror.

A teasing grin broke over her face as she looked into the glass. “Mirror Mirror who’s not on the wall, who’s the biggest nerd of them all? Oh, look, Fitz, I told you it worked like that! I can see your face clear as day!”

Fitz turned and shoved her lightly, his mouth curving in a thin smile as she began to giggle.

“Well if it works like that,” he shot back and his eyes narrowed, “then let me give it a try.” He turned to the mirror and cleared his throat dramatically, causing Skye to couple a roll of her eyes with her smile. “Mirror mirror who is made of glass, who’s the biggest pain in the ass? Bloody hell, who’d have thought? You were right Skye! I can see your face in here!”

“Ha ha,” she deadpanned, chucking a spare pen at his head but missing when he ducked. 

“You two know that the phrase is actually ‘magic mirror’ right?” Jemma tsked, not looking up from her microscope.

“Wait, for real?” Skye asked, her question almost a chirp. 

“Yes. Many people use it as an example of the Mandella effect.”

“Whoa ho, cool.”

Giving Fitz one more quick shove, Skye retreated back to her computer to continue her research on the object.

Finishing up with his scan, Fitz rounded the mirror to complete his scan, his nose nearly touching the surface as he looked into it. “You know,” he started, looking over his shoulder to Jemma, “it just looks like an ordinary mirror.”

Jemma looked up from her work, a crooked frown on her face Fitz knew meant she was thinking. “Based on what the results are saying so far, I would almost agree. There isn’t anything abnormal showing up on the tests and it isn’t as though anything has appeared in the mirror.” Fitz nodded and made for the holotable once more to upload the scan.

“It must need to be activated by something,” he said, scratching his temple with his gloved hand as he waited for the scan to show up in the system. “Perhaps we should take a look at--” 

“Uh,” Skye interrupted, her hand waving in the air to grab their attention as her eyes remained firmly on her computer screen, “I might have gotten some background on the mirror.”

Fitz zipped over to Skye, looking over her shoulder at the document she had found. Jemma, however, remained put with her lips forming a thin line as a strange zip of jealousy went through her and her brain still buzzed. 

Fitz’s eyes scanned over the words on the glowing screen, widening as they fell on a specific set of words. 

“These people thought it was cursed?” Fitz huffed, his back straightening away from the computer and Skye. 

Skye nodded, her head at a tilt, “I mean wouldn’t you if you couldn’t stop spouting off all the things you’re jealous about?”

A cold wash of worry drenched Jemma as she looked between her friends and the mirror. Her heart began to pound in her chest, her feelings suddenly making quite a bit of sense. In a sudden bit of horror, she processed what would come spilling out of her mouth if what they were saying was true. 

“It’s just a myth,” Fitz scoffed as he folded his arms, but couldn’t stop his voice from faltering.

“Yeah, but that myth definitely got its basis from somewhere.”

Jemma continued to look back towards the mirror while Skye scrolled through different legends, Fitz still at her shoulder but now slightly farther away.

“From what I’m getting from all these accounts, it looks like we’ve stumbled upon a really messed-up Mirror of Erised. According to most of the stories surrounding this thing, it shows the ‘reflection of within’ or whatever. It reflects desires and insecurities back at the person, making their reflection talk. Which I guess means it causes the person to just start babbling and acting like a dick. Awesome.”

“Does it say anywhere what triggers it?” Jemma’s voice was slightly higher than normal and Fitz shot her a curious look. She was trying her best to avoid opening her mouth, words itching to fall of her tongue against her will and making her feel like her heart might burst through her ribcage if she didn’t.

“I think it did somewhere… uh bup bup bup bah… ah! Here we go. Some dude wrote a poem about it in, wow in 1839. He wrote, ‘ _ What green eyed serpent does my reflection bare? What horrid blight does it bring? Why upon its gilded frame did my finger tear? Why must that wretched glass have made me sing?’  _ That guy was having a bad day.”

Fitz snorted and the sound sent Jemma further to her edge, her voice clipped as she spoke. “So it’s saying don’t touch the frame.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Fitz straightened with a start and his eyes shot to Jemma, the blue setting her skin ablaze.

“Simmons--”

“I’m fine!” Jemma snapped but the sharp turn of attention had broken the floodgates. “Not that either of you would notice since you seem so preoccupied with each other.”

Skye’s gaze turned slowly towards Fitz, whose mouth fell open in shock. Jemma, meanwhile, plastered her hands over her mouth, her face going beetroot red. However, there was no helping it now.

“You know, Fitz, I know you like Skye so you don’t have to throw it in my face all the time. I’m very aware that you probably will only ever see me as a friend so the rest of it is just unnecessary.”

Somehow Fitz’s eyes managed to widen even further and he nearly forgot to breathe, taking in a sharp breath only when he started to become light-headed. 

Jemma, at the other side of the small room, sank her teeth into her lip and threw her hands over her face, horrified at what had fallen out of her mouth. Her feet were the things that ended up saving her from further embarrassment, the back of her brain somehow taking control and aiding her in fleeing from the room, leaving Fitz’s trainers frozen to the floor of the lab with Skye next to him.

The only thing that Jemma could let herself think about was how much the myths had underplayed just how annoying a curse that damn mirror could be. She could feel the effects wearing off, at least. Perhaps it evened out the inconvenience of the curse’s effects. But the damage was done, Fitz now knowing the depths of her feelings. 

Jemma laid in her bunk with blankets pulled up to her nose, trying to shove her emotions down deep into the back of her mind to no avail. This wasn’t just going to be stuck down into a box. But, she could at least avoid everyone for a few hours, or perhaps days. Months if she had her way. In the end, Fitz gave her an hour.

He came with a light knock on her door, alerting her that it was him with their signature series of taps. Deciding that it was better to get it over with and face him, Jemma called for him to enter and, despite what had occurred between them only an hour before, she couldn’t help but give him a small smile when she saw him.

He had two mugs of tea in his hands, the gesture a long used symbol of care for the two of them. He had a soft smile tugging at his lips and a shy pink tint to his cheeks.

“I thought you might want a cuppa,” he said, the ocean of his eyes washing up from under his lashes.

“I’m so sorry, Fitz,” Jemma sighed, her hands attempting to cover her face. She could hear him place the mugs down before the mattress dipped slightly as he sat down next to her on the bed. Gently, he pulled her hands away from her face and her breath hitched at the way he was looking at her.

“Hey hey hey, Jemma. Why on Earth would you need to be sorry?”

She let out a shaky laugh, “Did you completely miss the mirror fueled meltdown I just had? Because I thought it was rather hard to miss.”

He chuckled and it was only then that Jemma noticed he was still holding her hands.

“I still don’t get why you would need to be sorry for all of that. Okay, maybe the phrasing was a bit harsh, but I forgive you for that.” He too was looking down at their entwined hands as he spoke, but as he finished and closed his mouth his eyes collided with hers.

“You know,” he continued, his voice turning quiet, “I don’t have a crush on Skye. I mean I did, but it was more just to distract myself from…”

Jemma’s heart began to thump excitedly in her chest as Fitz’s eyes roamed over her face. “From what Fitz?”

“To distract myself from how much I desperately want to be with you.”

“You… you have feelings for me?”

He let out a shaky laugh, stroking her palm with his careful fingers, “Yeah.”

“Good,” Jemma said simply, “Because I obviously have very strong feelings for you.”

The widest grin Jemma had ever seen fell onto Fitz’s face and her own face reflected it back. “So what do we do now?” 

“Kiss me, Fitz.”

“Absolutely.”

As Fitz’s lips gently captured hers, enveloping her in a dizzying kiss, Jemma felt that perhaps the myths surrounding the mirror hadn’t been completely right. From where she was sitting, wrapped up in Fitz, it felt much more like a blessing than a curse.


End file.
